Power rankings: chasing Broncos, Niners, Seahawks

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The race to play in Super Bowl XLVIII will begin later this month when all 32 NFL teams report to training camp. Through the offseason, three of last season's contenders emerged as the strongest favorites to win it all: the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Given the league's current excess of wealth at quarterback, they are armed and most dangerous, while QB have-nots find themselves at the bottom.

Here's Sporting News' initial power rankings for the 2013 NFL season.

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The Raiders have been the consensus in this position since early in the offseason, when they moved on from many veterans and pinned their quarterback hopes on Matt Flynn. That's putting a lot on their best returning player, Darren McFadden.

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So the Browns have had Joe Thomas as their offensive anchor for the while, but their young skill players are works in progress adapting to the Rob Chudzinski-Norv Turner philosophy. They are caught in a defense-mighty NFC North.

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The Titans worked on upgrading their offensive line by signing Andy Levitre and drafting Chance Warmack, with the intent of using Chris Johnson and the running game better to spark Jake Locker. Defensively, they are just not there to handle a passing-strong AFC.

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If you get excited about only one Bills player this season, make it C.J. Spiller. Until coach Doug Marrone settles on a quarterback and gets more receiving pop, Spiller is the offense. It's also getting weary how they go back and forth with defense.

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There is a lot of optimism around the new-look Jaguars, fueled by coach Gus Bradley and GM David Caldwell. Really, there is much young talent to like, such as Cecil Shorts. Unfortunately, QB is still set up to let them down.

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The Cardinals know they have somewhat solved quarterback with Carson Palmer and have coach Bruce Arians to help Larry Fitzgerald. They still have questions with their running game and defense, enough to keep them last in the brutal NFC West.

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The Chargers hope they'll see the old Philip Rivers, given they have upgraded their offensive line and staff. If Rivers can shake off last season's woes, they have the 3-4 defense intact to linger in wild-card contention.

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The Chiefs figure to be in the wild-card hunt because of adding a legitimate starting QB, Alex Smith, to go along with Jamaal Charles and the running game. The question is can the old, successful Andy Reid return? Better still, can they hang with Denver?

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Everyone wants to figure out just how good and exciting the Eagles' offense will be under Chip Kelly. But sorting out quarterback has been a tough task, and rebuilding the defense wholesale to a better fit for a 3-4 has been tougher.

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Calvin Johnson already got locked up, and this offseason was his quarterback's turn. Nothing really changes much for Matt Stafford, as the Lions will still count on his arm to move the ball and mask defensive issues. It helps that Reggie Bush arrives to provide ground support.

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Sean Payton and Drew Brees are reunited to get their offense back into a familiar explosive, aggressive yet balanced attack. But their defense is still a mess to be cleaned up, and Rob Ryan and their personnel might not be the combination to do it quite yet.

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Cam Newton has plenty room to grow, and the leadership skills needed to take a team to the playoffs are kicking in. The Panthers then must navigate a tough schedule and be better in close games to deliver on their promise.

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So why put the reigning NFC East champions so low? It's not because of concerns about Robert Griffin III's. Given their position in an ultra-competitive division with talented teams, they just didn't do quite enough to maintain first place.

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There are high hopes for the Dolphins as a wild-card contender but that's asking for a huge leap of an offense breaking in a new No. 1 receiver and feature back. Defense is where the true solidity is, led up front by Cameron Wake and rookie Dion Jordan.

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While Adrian Peterson prepares to begin his unprecedented quest for consecutive 2,000-yard rushing seasons, the Vikings make improvements to get better pop in their passing game. For them to make the playoffs again, Christian Ponder must deliver better.

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Despite an uneven, often inefficient rookie season, Andrew Luck was uncanny in the most adverse situations to lift the Colts into the playoffs. Now imagine what he can do with another year and working toward the elite status he's on track to embrace.

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Tony Romo made their biggest news with his mega contract, but their more subtle helpful move was switching their defense from Rob Ryan's disappointing 3-4 to a 4-3. DeMarcus Ware will still do the damage off the edge, just with a new look.

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Victor Cruz just got paid, and that should make Eli Manning a little happier going into training camp. What's keeping us from feeling even better about a big Giants rebound is concern about the offensive and defensive lines.

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There's little worry about their pass-rushing defense, and they've worked to make their passing game a lot more than just Andy Dalton hitting A.J. Green deep. The most exciting new weapons around Green are rookies Giovani Bernard and Tyler Eifert.

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J.J. Watt was off the charts in making impact plays for their defense last season, and they added someone in the secondary who knows a little something about that: Ed Reed. They'll be right in the AFC hunt, hoping Reed's Super Bowl magic rubs off on them.

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There's so much talk about how Tom Brady and the offense will recover. It helps they have the defensive backbone of a good front seven that will get stronger. Vince Wilfork is the linchpin who makes all that work.

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We know with Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have the necessary winning quarterback, still the NFL's best. You can bet they have been working all offseason to shore up defense around Clay Matthews after we saw them last being undressed by the 49ers in the divisional playoffs.

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What, no respect for the Super Bowl champs? Well, breaking into the top five of a top-heavy field is very respectable, and with Joe Flacco turning the corner as a truly elite passer, they are in the conversation to repeat.

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The Falcons know, with Julio Jones and their own marquee arsenal for Matt Ryan, they have the offense to make it to the Super Bowl. Their defense, especially their pass rush and secondary, are what could keep them again from getting there.

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The Broncos are coming off consecutive divisional playoff losses to the eventual conference champs, New England and Baltimore. After loading Peyton Manning with more weapons such as Wes Welker, they are banking on going a little further as the new AFC team to beat.

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The 49ers knocked on the door as now reigning NFC champions, and even though Colin Kaepernick's breakout has many buzzing about their offense, defense is the foundation that got them there. Where there's a Patrick Willis, there's a way to win it all.

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How good are the Seahawks? Just ask their unofficial spokesman, Richard Sherman, the self-proclaimed best cornerback in the league. Sherman can go a step further, as with Russell Wilson as Seattle's QB, he also plays for the best team in the league.